This verse modifies “warriors” from verse 7. As is sometimes the case in parallel lines, the first line sees the group as a whole (all girt with swords), while the second focuses on each soldier who is part of that group (each with his sword). Translators must be careful not to give the impression that there are two groups or that the soldiers are carrying two swords each. Both lines describe the same scene, but each from a different point of view. Note that the word sword is emphasized, since it occurs in both lines:

all of them wearing swords — being experienced in battle
[each] man his sword at this — from terror of the nights

We may ask what relevance these details have to the two lovers in the Song. Perhaps the detail is simply to draw attention to Solomon’s splendor, importance, and wealth, thus bringing the young woman’s admiration of her lover to new heights. On the other hand, if the carriage is taken as a symbol of their secret meeting place, the guards can point to the lovers’ sense of safety and well-being; they are as safe as if Solomon’s own bodyguards were protecting them.

All girt with swords: an unusual passive expression describes these warriors. Revised Standard Version, King James Version, and New Revised Standard Version understand the text to mean “being held,” that is, all of them were equipped with swords. But some commentators suggest the meaning is rather “skilled,” based on a parallel with the following participle “learned.” Hence Good News Translation uses “skillful with the sword,” and Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible suggest “skilled swords men.”

Expert in war: or “instructed in war.” What is learned comes from practical experience of war, hence Good News Translation “battle-hardened” (Jerusalem Bible is similar). New English Bible offers “trained to handle arms.”

Suggested translations can be:

• All of them are skilled swordsmen and experienced fighters.

• They are all equipped with weapons and know how to use them.

Each with his sword at his thigh: the phrase at his thigh is probably more correctly given by New English Bible when it says “ready at his side.” It is not simply that the bodyguards carry weapons, but that their weapons are close by in case of an attack.

Against alarms by night: or “from fear in the night.” The introductory preposition can mean “from,” “because of,” or “in fear of.” Many theories exist to explain the meaning or background of this phrase. Some see it stemming from a wedding night celebration, which supernatural powers may attempt to spoil. Gordis would have it mean that evil spirits or bandits may attack the procession to plunder the goods it carried. None of these interpretations is certain.

The noun alarms, or “terrors,” is used in two ways in Hebrew. One describes a person’s feeling of fear of some object or person (for example, Psa 64.1 “dread”; Pro 3.25 “sudden panic”); the other is an external object itself that strikes fear into a person, as in Job 15.21, “terrifying sounds.” Which one is intended here is difficult to say. However, since the bodyguards carry weapons, the possibility is strong that the poet is thinking of some external physical threat, not “demons” or some inner psychological problem. Our suggestion for translation is to represent alarms by the general word “danger.”

On the phrase by night see comments on 3.1. Here, however, the sense is rather “any night.” There may be a slight difficulty here, since seeing the caravan at a distance indicates a daytime sighting. This reference does not mean it is actually nighttime. The point is that the warriors are armed and ready for combat, be it day or night. Contemporary English Version catches the spirit when it says “They are experts at fighting, even in the dark.”

Translators can say:

• Each has a sword ready at his side in case of danger at night.

• Each has his sword ready to defend through the night.

Here again, the writer has gone to great lengths to add detail in a balanced and poetic way. Translators can attempt to do the same, perhaps through repetition and rhythm:

• All of them armed and skilled in battle,
Each one ready with a sword at his side,
Ready [and waiting] for the dangers of night.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .